Latest Articles

11 U.S. cities honored as ‘walk-friendly’: Seattle ranks first

Seattle got the “platinum” ranking for its efforts to make the city more walkable.Photo: chrissudermanCross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. After evaluating applicant communities in several categories related to walking — including safety, mobility, access, and comfort — the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) last week announced the selection of 11 Walk Friendly […]

It’s almost summer, we can start believing in climate change again

It's common knowledge that global warming deniers are prone to confusing climate with weather, as in this video that we posted last year but which I am embedding anyway because it's awesome. But a study in this month's Psychological Science confirms that your average schmo is more likely to believe in global climate change on […]

Bad seeds: A plan to phase out the $5 billion in ‘direct payment’ agricultural subsidies

Let’s phase out wasteful subsidies.Photo: Earl WilkersonCross-posted from the Center for American Progress. Agriculture and the family farm are the foundation of strong and healthy rural communities, and a critical engine of U.S. economic growth. Regrettably, a key aspect of U.S. agricultural policy does not meaningfully contribute to the success of U.S. farmers: Most federal […]

Study: Rich old Republicans are pessimistic about your future

A new Gallup poll finds that only 44 percent of those surveyed thought that today's youth would have a better life than their parents. That's worse than during the recession. In fact, it's the lowest percentage on record, for a question they've been asking since 1983. (The highest, weirdly, was in December 2001 — 71 […]

Grist food guru Tom Philpott is in the running for a James Beard award

Tom Philpott We at Grist have known for years that Tom Philpott, our senior food and agriculture writer, is a rock star. We’re delighted that the rest of the world is figuring it out too. Tom has been nominated for a James Beard Foundation Journalism Award in the “Food-Related Columns and Commentary” category. The James […]

Green doesn’t sell to mouth-breathing Americans, says CEO of GE

GE is making billions of dollars selling the world wind turbines and energy-efficient technology, so it's a little surprising to hear that the biggest regret of its CEO, Jeffrey Immelt, is all that hippy-dippy talk at the center of the company's Ecomagination campaign. "If I had one thing to do over again I would not […]

How to profit from the coming ecopocalypse

While a quarter of Americans have a net worth of zero, Jeremy Grantham controls a hedge fund worth $107 billion, and he has a message for the world: Resource scarcity, peak oil, and climate change could mean big bucks for those who can get out ahead of the disaster. Well, okay, not BIG bucks — […]

Cute guy hand-rears baby hummingbird, what’s not to love?

How's this for a hands-on approach to saving the natural world: When this baby hummingbird was attacked, this guy rescued it and nursed it to a healthy adulthood in a stirring montage set to a Jack Johnson tune.  The dude says: when she thought she was ready to leave (and she was) she flew off […]

New York Times blows the Dust Bowl story

County Commissioner: “There’s no economic growth whatsoever. It’s going to have to be wind energy or we’ll die.” Actual NY Times caption:  “A church made an apt request.” Media miscoverage of climate change comes in many forms.  We still have false balance between climate science and denial, contrary to the myth of flawed analyses.  And […]

NYC’s first Asian-American woman firefighter rides a bike to work, and loves it

Think you’ve got a good idea of what a New York firefighter is like? Or a New York biker? Well, get ready to reexamine some of your stereotypes, if you’ve got ’em. Sarinya Srisakul is the FDNY’s first Asian-American woman firefighter (she also happens to be a vegan). She rides her bike to work 10 […]